Really?

for real? does she live in a tree or something?!

in all seriousness, is this really a medical thing so much that you cant go into work?!

? I work with someone like that!

My aunty has this ear thing that every nw and then flares up and its like vertigo she can't stand up without getting really dizzy and essentially looses al her balance - tis very weird.

It *could* be totally legit. My friend has some complex sort of vertigo (it has a very long name, I can't remember the whole thing!) and she can be totally fine for ages, but then if she gets even a little overtired, something kicks in and she can't sit or stand up for more than a few seconds without passing out. She spent 3 months of our first year at uni practically bedridden because of it. She has to be really careful not to overdo it nowadays.

To be honest flow im finding it really hard to believe anything she says anymore. Since last year she has been off with varicose veins, 6 days for a cold!! a day off (not holiday i will add) because the dog was poorly, this vertigo episode which happened last tuesday at lunch and she didnt come back to work, teeth problems, i could go on and on.

I work with a woman who had labrynthitis. It hit her at the end of October last year and she wasn't back until January, and that was on a phased return. It could very well be a legit ilness, and depending on it's severity can put you out of action for weeks/months. The question is, to what possible extent is she milking it?

I used to work with a girl who was off more often than she was in, and when she came in she was an hour late and always left early, which used to really annoy my line manager. in the end up due to another colleague coming back to work from a career break, either she or I were losing our jobs....seeing as i still work there, you can tell who was kicked out.

I get this (labrynthitis) and have had to have time off twice over the last few years with it. It's vile. BUT... I can still manage to phone into work, it doesn't stop me using the phone, it just stops me from standing up, walking, driving etc.

My netball coach has it at the moment - hers has been the result of an inner ear infection so she may well recover and never get it again.

Vickster, she doesnt sound like a bit of a sicknote! I think i would find it hard to believe her too.

I'd say I've had it 4 or 5 times since I was a teenager but I have no idea what causes it. I remember the first time I got it was after being on the Waltzers in Blackpool, I couldn't get my balance for weeks afterwards, since then it has just come on randomly. Sometimes it's really bad where I just have to stay still as much as possible, other times, it's not so severe.

this made me giggle!

ive worked with someone who used to call in sick for loads of reasons, because 'they had a bad nights sleep' or 'have a headache coming on'

I know that some people are more prone to ailments and Im sure its not pleasant for them, but sometimes it would really bug me the amount of times she would call in with things that everyone else would just deal with and get on with their work!

We have one of these members of staff too! She once phoned in saying she couldn't come in to work as "I feel a headache will develop today, so it's best I stay at home".

Everyone here is supposed to phone in themselves (unless they can't because they are in hospital or lost their voice) from their landline number, but most get their husbands / partners to do it, or simply just text in.

My mum has a form of labyrinthitis and when it first started it knocked her flat for 6 months. She couldn't work and somedays she couldn't even get out of bed because it was so bad, she described it as feeling permanently drunk and it gave her terrible headaches and left her exhausted. I know on her worst days she couldn't cope with a telephone because any noise over a whisper was painful for her and she was quite often confused if anyone spoke too fast. My mum has always been a hard working busy woman so it was really hard seeing her like that for so long, she is a lot better now and back at work part time but still has bad days and is still taking medication and going for physiotherapy over a year later.

Obviously this woman could be at it, but if she genuinely has some sort of vertigo then it could be much more complicated than you would expect.

Our policy states that we have to speak to our line manager ourselves or it will be counted as unauthorised absence, she may well have vertigo but this shouldn't stop her phoning in. With our retail population, if we suspect they are fibbing, we ask for a landline number to call them back on later, this stops them going out for the day and is good at differentiating between those genuinely sick and those pulling a fast one! My dads partner had vertigo a few years back, which we thought was amusing as he is 6ft8!!

I have a colleague like this. He gets his wife to call in sick, has random days off here there and everywhere, and had about 3 months off over summer with stress. Admittedly, he was having a tough time, but still...

Incidentally, I've had a month off with vertigo before because I couldn't drive! (but I was genuine)